Billy Joel talks heroin use and why it scared him

Kristyn Burtt is an IAWTV award-winning host and entertainment reporter. She currently hosts the recap shows for "Dancing With the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance" on AfterBuzz TV and for "True Blood" on GeekNation.

He wasn't a fan

He's currently sober, but Billy Joel reveals he tried heroin and it terrified him. Find out which of his songs was inspired by his drug use.

Photo credit: Independent-Image/WENN.com

Billy Joel may be 64 years old, but he's certainly had a full rock-and-roll life. The legendary singer talked with Howard Stern for SiriusXM's Town Hall series in New York City on Monday and revealed a lot about his drug use.

One of his songs from 1982, "Scandinavian Skies," is the one tune most misinterpreted by his fans. He admitted to Stern that the single was about trying heroin.

He shared, "It got me so high, I didn't know how to deal with it. It scared me."

The "Piano Man" singer has had a long history of substance abuse. He had three car accidents in the early 2000s that eventually sent him to rehab. His battle with booze was chronicled in a New York Times article in May 2013.

He told the paper, "I was kind of in a mental fog, and it had nothing to do with the booze. My mind wasn't right. I wasn't focused. I went into a deep, deep depression after 9/11. 9/11 just knocked the wind out of me, and I don't know even know if I've recovered from it… I used booze as medication."